


Of A Girl Who Found Her Way Back

by EmeraldInALocket



Category: Original Work
Genre: ???? - Freeform, Christmas Time, Fox - Freeform, Happy Ending, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Snow, Talking Animals, Winter, at least i hope it's original..., i don't want to spoil the story too much, i'm still confused, idk how to tag this, judge it yourself, kinda cheesy..?, oh well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-09-10 18:45:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8928799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmeraldInALocket/pseuds/EmeraldInALocket
Summary: “I don’t know if you noticed, but you can’t go back to the way things were, Samantha. We need to hurry to The Arch Of Passage. Otherwise, you’re going to be absorbed by The Watcher and cease to exist altogether.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> As of now this story is 1 year old and I didn't want to upload it here in the middle of summer n_n"  
> I wrote it for a small competition and the theme was: **Winter Story**.  
>  And I even created a pinterest board for it [HERE](https://pl.pinterest.com/Eminalocket/of-a-girl-who-found-her-way-back/)  
> I'm still not sure how I feel about this story though... *sigh*  
> But yeah, now that Christmas is upon us, I guess it's time to share it here n_n
> 
> Enjoy~!

Sam sat on a lone bench in front of an impressive stone fountain. Looking around she noticed that hers were the only traces visible on the even surface of the snow. It was as if she’d been dropped here, in the middle of this round clearing by some unnamed force and left to her own devices. Surprisingly enough she didn’t feel as bothered by the peculiarity of the situation as it would’ve been expected of her.

Everything was so breathtakingly captivating. The setting sun made the snow sparkle like a golden glitter on her favourite bauble and the dark bark of bare trees surrounding the place created a warm and welcoming picture. A soft smile played on her lips as she breathed the crispy air.

The passing of the time didn’t seem to affect her in the slightest. The sun remained in the same position, not a single cloud in the sky. Maybe she was sitting there for a couple of minutes, swinging idly her legs, or maybe hours passed by. There was no way of telling. Everything appeared to be frozen in time. Quite literally.

Then suddenly…

A movement.

Just in the corner of her blue eyes. She wouldn’t have noticed it if it wasn’t for its vivid colour. Turning her head sharply to the left she managed to catch a glimpse of some orange blur darting straight into the woods.

Sam stood up and gingerly ventured in its direction. She blinked, cocking her head to the side. Only now did she notice the gap in the wall of trees surrounding the clearing. The path that revealed itself seemed to be out of place in this winter wonderland.

There was no snow but a humongous amount of autumn leaves littered the ground. The smell of their decay lingering in the air grew more and more intense as the girl was nearing this new mysterious feature of the environment.

Only one little step forward and she’d be on the path. Sam hesitated, though. Looking up it was almost impossible to see the blue of the sky. While she was sitting on the bench, the trees created a stunning picture, but now they were looming threateningly above her head. She never thought a plant could make her feel so tiny and insignificant. Some part of her wanted to go back to admiring the nature. However, the other part was getting giddy with excitement at the prospect of exploring an unknown area.

This intense debate was interrupted by a sharp bark coming from the path. Startled, Sam was even more surprised when she noticed a red fox sitting there, looking straight at her.

“Oh, hello there,” the girl whispered, tilting her head.

In response the fox barked again and pawed at the ground as if beckoning her.

And she did just that, involuntarily. She stepped onto the path. At that exact moment the earth shook beneath her with a deafening noise and she fell down on her knees with a soft thud lost in the commotion around, heart hammering in her chest. However, it ended as quickly as it started. And when she looked behind the clearing was gone. Now the only thing she saw was a great monolithic wall of dark trees and no other way but forward.

Gasping for breath, Sam turned her widened eyes to the animal but it seemed unfazed by the whole ordeal. It climbed up the path and was resting its front paws on one of the trees and seemed to be looking expectantly at her.

“Are you coming or what?”

Sam squealed, both of her hands covering her mouth.

“Y-you ca-an talk?!” she stammered, still keeping her distance.

“And you apparently cannot,” came the taunting reply. She could’ve sworn that the animal smirked while saying this.

Sam frowned, pursing her lips. She crossed her arms and considered the fox for a moment. It didn’t seem to mean her any harm but even trees weren’t as they appeared to be. Why wouldn’t an animal – a talking animal at that – do the same?

“Come now, we have to hurry,” it came up closer and sat a couple of yards away from her.

“Why would I? Maybe I like it here.” Sam added just to spite the animal.

Its golden eyes squinted and a snarl begin to form on its snout.

“I don’t know if you noticed, but you can’t go back to the way things were, Samantha. We need to hurry to The Arch Of Passage. Otherwise, you’re going to be absorbed by The Watcher and cease to exist altogether.”

“What on earth are you talking about?!” Sam said, each word coming out louder than the previous. “And why are you even talking?!”

“Don’t you know what time of year it is? “ the fox replied smoothly, refraining from any further explanations. “Come.” It began with a serious voice. “I promise everything will be fine as long as you follow me.”

“You promise?” Sam whispered after a long silence. She looked at the ground full of rotting leaves. She didn’t want to be left alone again.

“I promise.”

The finality and certainty resounded clearly in the animal’s voice and Sam felt some courage and hope coursing through her. She nodded and smiled bashfully. The fox returned the gesture. Without any further ado they went together up the gentle slope.

The further they went the more whiteness appeared on the path and when they reached the other side the land stretching in front of their eyes was covered in a vast amount of snow. As the clouds covered the sun, everything looked monochrome with them being the only splash of colour.

“Who is this Watcher anyway?”

“This foul beast?” The fox snarled. “It’s a disgrace of every spirit of this realm. An insatiable parasite, feeding on a lost souls or those just passing by.”

“Souls?” Sam stopped dead in her track, stumped. “Does that mean… Am I… dead?”

“Not yet,” the fox replied, turning its head to look at her. “You’re in an in-between state. That’s why I need to take you to The Arch Of Passage. So that…”

“So that I can come back home.”

The fox nodded and soon they resumed the walk. Sam stayed quiet for a while.

“Do you always look like a fox?” she asked.

“No. I took up this form because it best represents your true nature.”

Sam opened her mouth to ask some more questions but no sound came out. The air became frigid, the environment painted itself in a various hues of blue.

“Smells good,” the off-key incorporeal voice resounded around them. “De… li… cious.”

“Run.”

She didn’t need to be told twice. Looking over her shoulder she caught a glimpse of a black and white static mass gaining on density and speed with every passing second. It filled her with dread and she dived forward with all her might.

Sam recognised The Arch Of Passage as soon as she laid her eyes on it. A colossal stone arch with an ivy draped on its walls looking not even a bit out of the ordinary, but there was something magnetising about it… something powerful.

The Watcher caught up with them too quickly. Its body was getting heavier and black tendrils shot from the sides. The mass still whispered in this croaky, off-key voice some incomprehensible things.

“Go! I’ll hold it back!” the fox shouted, facing The Watcher.

“But…” Sam hesitated. The animal looked puny in comparison to this monstrosity. It didn’t stand a chance.

“Don’t worry about me. As soon as you go through The Arch I’ll be able to take my real form. Now go!”

The fox barely noticed the black tendril that swiftly shot at Sam’s face. But now that The Watcher had a solid body it was easier for the animal to bite into it and drag it down. A screech that it gave out was deafening.

Sam stopped right in front of the entry only to witness The Watcher’s attempt to engulf the fox whole in its shapeless body. She shut her eyes tight and with a quiet whimper stepped through, wishing with all of her heart that her guide came out of this fight without a scratch.

* * *

She woke up abruptly, sitting upright and gripping the bedsheets, her knuckles white as snow. A choking sound on her left was the first sound that caught her attention. Then she heard the beeping of a monitor and then came the smell of some disinfectant.

A hospital.

She was laying in a hospital bed and on her left side was sitting a woman in her late forties. Her blue eyes were shining from tears streaming down her cheeks but she was smiling.

“Mom?” Sam whispered.

“My little girl…”, the woman choked out, bringing her beloved daughter into a tight hug. “You came back to me…”

“Of course I did. I’ll always will…” Sam mumbled with a tight throat, clinging to her. ”What day is it?”

“It’s Christmas Eve, darling. You came back just in time for Christmas.”


End file.
